Jayson Tatum: James Harden should've won MVP last year
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum decided to share his opinion on who should've been the 2018-19 NBA MVP.
Tatum joined basketball skills coach and consultant Pep Stanciel for an Instagram Live session on Wednesday, and he believes one member of the Houston Rockets should've won MVP last season over Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
During the 2018-19 season, Harden averaged 36.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists while averaging 44.2 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from beyond the arc.
When comparing that with Antetokounmpo, the Bucks star averaged 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game while shooting 57.8 percent from the field and 25.6 percent from three-point range.
Obviously it was a difficult decision between the two, but Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee to the Eastern Conference Finals while Harden couldn't get the Rockets past the semifinals.
Tatum also gave his picks for who the best player is at each position. The 22-year-old picked the Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid as the best center, the Los Angeles Lakers' Anthony Davis as the best power forward, Davis' teammate LeBron James as the best small forward, Harden as the best shooting guard and the Golden State Warriors' Steph Curry as the best point guard.
It'd be interesting to see where Tatum ranks himself among some of the best. He's certainly becoming one of the NBA's brightest young stars with the Celtics.
Before the NBA hit pause on the 2020 season due to the coronavirus, Tatum was averaging 23.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game while shooting 44.8 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from three-point range. He made it to his first All-Star Game and has improved his number dramatically from the 2018-19 campaign.
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